Libertarian Purity Test
by Bryan Caplan

This is the Libertarian Purity Test, which is intended to
measure how libertarian you are. It isn't intended to be any sort of
McCarthyite purging device -- just a form of entertainment, hopefully
thought-provoking. I like it a lot better than the more famous "World's
Shortest Political Quiz" because I haven't stated the questions with any
intent to give an upward bias to a test-taker's score, and because it
gives a clearer breakdown between hard and soft-core libertarians.
Enjoy, suggest your friends try it out, and see how you compare to
other test-takers...

A note on meaning: The word privatized
as used throughout the survey means that
a given government service is henceforth
supplied by the free market and paid for by
consumers. It is distinguished from sub-contracting
in which the government uses
tax money to hire a private firm to provide
a government service.

Part I (1 point each)

Are taxes too high?
Yes
No

Is government spending too high?
Yes
No

Are we over-regulated?
Yes
No

Are you for free trade?
Yes
No

Should the minimum wage be abolished?
Yes
No

Should rent control be abolished?
Yes
No

Are zoning laws too strict?
Yes
No

Do we spend too much on Medicare?
Yes
No

Do we spend too much on Social Security?
Yes
No

Should we privatize the Post Office?
Yes
No

Would school vouchers be an improvement over government schools?
Yes
No

Should we relax immigration laws?
Yes
No

Would housing vouchers be an improvement over government housing?
Yes
No

Should the government sell off more of the public lands?
Yes
No

Are worker safety regulations too strict?
Yes
No

Does drug-approval take too long?
Yes
No

Do you think we spend too much on anti-poverty programs?
Yes
No

Is occupational licensing (for doctors, plumbers, and other
professions) too strict?
Yes
No

Does the government spend too much on higher education?
Yes
No

Does the Federal Reserve have too much discretionary power?
Yes
No

Should marijuana be legalized?
Yes
No

Should all sex between consenting adults be legal -- even for money?
Yes
No

Do you believe in freedom of expression for books, newspapers,
radio, television, the Internet, and so on,
even for offensive and unpopular views and subject matters?
Yes
No

Should private clubs have sole authority to select their own
members, even if they are discriminatory?
Yes
No

Are you against national service?
Yes
No

Are you against the draft?
Yes
No

Does the U.S. intervene too much in other countries?
Yes
No

Should the military budget be cut?
Yes
No

Should the U.S. refuse to pay for the defense of allies that are
rich enough to defend themselves?
Yes
No

If it has to fight a war, should the U.S. try harder to avoid
civilian targets?
Yes
No

Part II (3 points each)

Should taxes be cut by 50% or more?
Yes
No

Should spending be cut by 50% or more?
Yes
No

Would you abolish at least half of existing federal regulatory
agencies?
Yes
No

Should we abolish anti-trust laws?
Yes
No

Should we abolish public schools and universities?
Yes
No

Should we abolish welfare?
Yes
No

Should we abolish Social Security?
Yes
No

Should we abolish Medicare?
Yes
No

Should all of the public lands be privatized?
Yes
No

Should we privatize sanitation, fire, and other local services?
Yes
No

Should immigration laws be abolished?
Yes
No

Should the FDA and medical licensing be abolished?
Yes
No

Should all of the Federal Reserve's discretionary powers be
eliminated and the monetary base frozen?
Yes
No

Should we abolish worker safety regulation?
Yes
No

Should the Supreme Court strike down economic regulation as
unconstitutional?
Yes
No

Should all drugs be legalized for adults?
Yes
No

Should anti-discrimination laws be abolished?
Yes
No

Should the military budget be cut by at least 75%?
Yes
No

Should the U.S. withdraw completely from Europe, Asia, and other
foreign bases?
Yes
No

Is bombing civilians in an enemy country morally equivalent to murder?
Yes
No

Part III (5 points each)

Should all taxes be abolished?
Yes
No

Should highways and roads be privatized?
Yes
No

Should the Fed be abolished and replaced with free banking and
privately-issued money?
Yes
No

Should all legislation be replaced by judge-made law, arbitration,
and other private rule-suppliers?
Yes
No

Is all government inherently evil?
Yes
No

Is government an unnecessary evil?
Yes
No

Should police be privatized?
Yes
No

Should the courts be privatized?
Yes
No

Should the law itself be privatized?
Yes
No

Should the state be disarmed and its military disbanded?
Yes
No

Is it morally permissible to exercise "vigilante justice," even against
government leaders?
Yes
No

Is all government essentially exploitation of the productive
members of society for the benefit of a parasitic ruling elite?
Yes
No